The marketing of soft drink beverages in 2 liter plastic bottles has been steadily increasing over the last decade. The industry has now expanded to include 3 liter plastic bottles similar in nature, and someday may include even larger bottles. Though these types of bottles permit a cost effective means for bottling soft drink beverages, they have drawbacks to the consumer handling them.
One article has been suggested as useful for solving many of the problems encountered in handling the aforementioned bottles. As pointed out in U.S. Pat. No. 4,456,135, the weight of the bottle, when full, makes it difficult to grasp. With the introduction of 3 and 4 liter bottles it makes it even more difficult to grasp around its body. The thin wall of the bottle permits it to collapse when the cap is off and pressure applied around the body during a normal pouring process. It is nearly impossible to grasp, lift, and pour such bottles without using both hands, one around the neck and one at the bottom.
Even though the aforementioned U.S. patent has addressed the problems inherent with 2 liter bottles, the detailed and intricate design of the described article is relatively expensive to manufacture and thus does not provide the easiest solution to the problem. There is a need for a handle simple in design and inexpensive in cost which can be used for the handling of bottles. In accord with this invention, such a handle has been invented.